Saturday, December 15, 2001
'Light' goes on for UC
Bearcats show what they are capable of
By Michael Perry
The Cincinnati Enquirer
University of Cincinnati assistant coach Andy Kennedy walked up to senior Jamaal Davis right after Friday night's Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout, put his fingers near each other and said, “We're this close to being a great team.”
“What he meant by that was, if all the guys play together, play as a team and do the things that we can do, we'll be a great team,” Davis said.
The Bearcats showed what that could mean in their 75-55 victory over Xavier.
UC outrebounded the Musketeers 45-25. It had four players score in double figures. It got a strong defensive effort as a team and from individuals.
“If we come out and do that every night, I think we can beat anybody,” senior Immanuel McElroy said.
“I think it gives guys a little bit of confidence,” Davis said. “It gives guys some light.”
Donald Little had a team-high 10 rebounds, his third game in double digits for the season. Davis and McElroy each added nine boards. McElroy was especially active early, getting six first-half rebounds.
“I was working hard,” he said. “I wanted to go to the boards. That's what Coach emphasized because they don't all go to the boards. Once we box out and rebound, we can run.”
Little and Davis had heard all week about how poorly they played in last year's Crosstown Shootout, which Xavier won 69-67. XU won the rebounding battle that game 43-37, with Davis and Little grabbing three each. Because of foul trouble, Little played just five minutes.
Friday was different. Little committed his second foul with 9:16 left in the first half and went to the bench, but he picked up just one more foul in the second half. He finished with nine points and two blocks in 26 minutes.
“I think me and Donald took it upon ourselves to really hit the glass,” Davis said. “We can't forget about last year.”
The Bearcats got balance. While the post players combined for 21 points and 19 rebounds, the three perimeter players — McElroy, Leonard Stokes and Steve Logan — combined for 51 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists.
Logan led the way with 22 points and seven assists.
“We needed this game,” Logan said. “Everybody was on the same page. We wanted to play defense. We wanted to get guys open shots.”
Davis did a solid job on Xavier center David West, even before West hurt his ankle late in the first half.
“It's been tough for people all year to score against our defense,” coach Bob Huggins said. “We've got to continue to get better on offense.”
No, B.J. Grove, who rejoined the team at Wednesday's practice, did not play.
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'Light' goes on for UC
